The Smoke and Mirrors of Overall health Care Reform for the Elderly
I am deeply concerned that the American public, especially our nation’s elders, will be relying on our government to deliver lengthy term care services they will by no means see. They’ll only see the “smoke and mirrors” of Wellness Care Reform.
Our nation’s seniors are the most vulnerable segment of the U.S. population vulnerable both wellness sensible and financially. They are silently discovering the savings they believed would be enough is not enough. They are silently fearful of running out of money with no one to care for them as they turn into much more frail. The silence is about to turn out to be deafening.
Regrettably, when Wellness Care Reform proudly announced New Lengthy Term Care Services, it discouraged many American’s from buying Extended Term Care Insurance.
The New York Occasions reported on ‘Options Expand for Very affordable Lengthy-Term Care’ THE NEW OLD AGE. The Linked Press announced ‘New Health Care Law Has Rewards for Seniors’. Point becoming, the casual reader was relieved to hear their government will “take care of them” when they require lengthy term care solutions. We now know that is not about to take place.
Fortunately our representatives in Washington discovered that Health Care Reforms answer to the challenge of Lengthy Term Care, “CLASS”, (Neighborhood Living Help Solutions and Supports Act) legislation would have been fiscally unsound. $70 billion in premiums that was anticipated to be raised for the new “long term care” plan would have been counted as “deficit reduction”. The long term care rewards it was intended to finance were assumed not to materialize in the initial ten years. However, that cash was not accounted for anyplace in the legislation.
The new legislation proposed to “trim” $463 billion from Medicare. Yet Medicare is currently getting difficulty balancing its books currently. However, why does the health care bill inform us Medicare can operate much more cheaply going forward devoid of the accompanying reforms?
Our national media gave enormous fanfare to the CLASS ACT when it passed. Regrettably the media has provided the CLASS ACT’s demise tiny focus. Now what?
Projections show that the federal deficit is expected to exceed $700 billion annually over the subsequent decade. This essentially will double the national and $900 billion represents interest on preceding debt. Would the CFO of any main corporation in the United States allow the enterprise he worked for to end up in this kind of financial position? Completely not.
Our officials in Congress have been elected to defend the greatest interests of the American men and women. “Robbing Peter to spend Paul”, and as soon as once again printing additional currency, has become our government’s mantra for the future. However the magnitude of the mismanagement of America’s purse strings has now reached an unconscionable state.
The United States of America can’t continue to mismanage its economic future. Future Congresses will have to provide a multitude of future reforms and, regrettably, history tells us THAT will under no circumstances happen. Proposals for financing wellness reform have been primarily based on a lot more “smoke and mirrors”. The “Cadillac” tax is scheduled to begin in 2018.
The health care legislation that has been forced on each and every and just about every a single of us is recognized to be fiscally unsound. Where do we go from right here? It’s also simple to point the finger at the President and his administration. But Congress owns the responsibility of passing Well being Care Legislation. And THAT is the dilemma.
The 535 voting members of Congress shared the responsibility equally. If one particular clear thinking, intelligent, honorable Congressman had the complete responsibility for Wellness Care Reform, he or she would not have forced a fiscally unsound Wellness Care Reform Bill down our throats.
Now let’s again evaluate how Health Care Reform will operate against our senior citizens.
A most current government report identified that in 2000 there were 1.eight million offered nursing house beds. As ms cognitive symptoms came to a close, there were 1.7 million nursing dwelling beds a net five % reduction in readily available beds. And, there are no new nursing properties becoming constructed.
Right now there is much less than 1.5 million Americans confined to nursing houses. Reportedly 10 % of these nursing residences are operating beneath bankruptcy protection. It’s well known that most of these facilities are understaffed and quite a few don’t have competent support.
Next, let’s look at that the Alzheimer’s Association tells us the likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s immediately after age 85 is 50 %. By 2030, they inform us that the quantity of individuals age 65 and older with Alzheimer’s illness is estimated to attain 7.7 million, a 50 percent enhance from the 5.2 million age 65 and older currently impacted.
The logical question I will have to ask is “if we can not take adequate care of 1.5 million men and women these days, how can we possibly take care of 7.7 million people in 2030?” We can’t. Far more just put, when you or your spouse or your parent has Alzheimer’s, there is no location for them to go. Not to be cruel, but if you ever feel for a moment about taking in an aged parent with Alzheimer’s into your home, please consider once more. Ask any caregiver who’s been through it. It really is Guaranteed to destroy any families’ peace of thoughts and harmony.
Why aren’t our political leaders actively functioning on options? Where’s the outcry? Regrettably our political leaders only align themselves with solvable issues.
America’s seniors became more hopeful reading that Wellness Reform will enable them with added Long Term Care solutions. And we now know THAT is not going to come about. There are no plans in location to assistance our nation’s seniors think they will obtain the comfort and dignity of adequate extended term care solutions. What is worse is the silence shared by all our political leaders. The silence is now deafening.